Red Rock Academy Dossier

Red Cliff Academy is a highly select private elementary and secondary school in the foothills of North Georgia. It is served by a diverse group of faculty, half of whom have a Ph.D. degree and the other half have graduate level higher education. Half are male and half are female. All faculty have spent extensive amounts of time in cross-cultural contexts, and periodically visit areas of the world outside the United States, maintaining friendships with individuals representing highly diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Faculty are always available to their students; they are on-call 24 hours a day for any kind of need. There is a 2:3 faculty-student ratio, and additional adults not included in this ratio are available for occasional assistance in school-related activities. Faculty retention rate has been 100% over the last decade.

While there is a strong emphasis upon traditional values and classic curricula, students are provided with a highly individualized learning program tailored to their individual needs; programs can be--and often are--modified on a daily basis if necessary to best meet personal circumstances. Innovations in cross-age, peer-based curricula are regularly explored and utilized almost on a daily basis, as needed rather than as programmed in advance. The school makes extensive use of computers, with some of the latest technology and dozens of the most recent computer programs, chosen to complement each student's needs and interests. All students have access to the internet, and most are involved each day with a wide variety of computer-based activities including email, programming languages, and creating web pages.

Music, values development, and the fine arts are thoroughly integrated into a rich curriculum readily adapted to meet contemporary needs. All students score well above average in nationally standardized tests. Students participate in sports, cultural, and religious events with children from other schools. Nearly all students have won awards from non-Academy representatives for their achievements in many kinds of competitions. Red Rock Academy students--while still in junior high or high school--have taken local college classes and have scored well above the average college student in those classes.

Students interact regularly with a wide diversity of people while at the Academy. They maintain friendships with children and adults from many parts of the world, including people with Asian, Hispanic, and African backgrounds. Students have strong relationships with nearby handicapped and elderly people.

While there is a strong emphasis upon academics at Red Cliff Academy, there is an equal emphasis upon physical fitness and mutual responsibility. Each student is assigned tasks that will benefit other students in the school, and is given the full responsibility for caring for animals at the school. They are also encouraged to participate in the culinary arts, and many meals are individualized to student desires as well as dietary needs. While students are strongly encouraged to eat with the family for the evening meal, other meals are often made available when it meets the student's convenience in negotiating other activities.

Each student has a specific space for study, personalized according to individual student taste, including furniture, wallpaper design, and general decor. In addition, students are expected to be involved in school-related activities in several additional rooms--all attractively decorated--that are available to each student.

A holistic emphasis is predominant at Red Cliff Academy. All faculty, administrators, and students collectively participate at least weekly in a field trip outside of the immediate area, and several times each year travel as a group to another part of the United States.

Admission is highly selective; entry requirements are extremely demanding. Only current family members can anticipate admission. While costly, the education provided is priceless.

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